Primary Menu

Dorinda's Chocolate

It might seem obvious and commonsensical, but to Dorinda, her chocolates are definitely more than just a sugar rush that goes straight to the thighs. She creates real flavors for real people through pure, hand-crafted quality chocolates.

Description

img_3193

img_3194

img_3196

img_3200

img_3202

img_3204

img_3208

img_3211

img_3213

img_3219

img_3220

img_3222

img_3224

img_3228

img_3229

img_3230

img_3231

img_3232

img_3233

img_3235

img_3239

img_3241

img_3242

img_3243

img_3244

img_2777

img_2779

img_2782

img_2787

img_2788

img_2791

img_2793

img_2796

Dorinda’s Chocolates: Nuts & Bolts? Nibs & Truffles?

When Dorinda was only twelve years old, she had her first taste of a chocolate covered cherry. It was then that she realized that she had a certain fondness for chocolates. She also realized that if she ever made chocolates herself that she would only make the best. But what would make her confectionary creations stand out from countless others (some of them being confectionary giants) who tries to bring their passion of making chocolates to the masses. Her reason was simple—in order for her chocolates to stand out from the others, she would make chocolates that were made to eat. Not for just display, not for showing competitors how expensive they are, but by just simply how good they taste.

The next time you step into a chocolate shop and you don’t know what to get, you should ask yourself this: “What makes these chocolates stand out from all the other chocolates out there?” Is it the taste? Is it the price? What is it made from and where? Knowing how good a chocolate shop is can be determined if they have a kitchen, according to Dorinda, owner & proprietor of Dorinda’s Chocolates. If you ask Dorinda about what makes her confectionary creations stand out from the rest, for her, well, it is pretty simple: her chocolates were made to eat.

It might seem obvious and commonsensical, but to Dorinda, her chocolates are definitely more than just a sugar rush that goes straight to the thighs. She creates real flavors for real people through pure, hand-crafted quality chocolates. But what she definitely does not want to do is to make “strip mall chocolates.”
Dorinda’s chocolates are hand-dipped piece by piece and are made with high-quality fresh ingredients. She makes sure that her cacao beans come from a first-class supplier. And for caramel to not get stuck on the teeth she makes it with pure homemade whipping cream.

To her, the origin of the cacao beans count. From the cacao pods, there are the cacao beans inside. What are extracted from it is the nib and the cacao butter—the secret of a good white chocolate according to Dorinda. These are just some of the factors which make her business model successful. Just make sure not to tell anyone. “Processing cacao beans is a huge process. The percentage of the cocoa mass matter but the technique of processing cacao beans is really what makes a chocolate good & remarkable…” she adds.
Dorinda first got discovered at the Chocolate, Wine & Roses Festival. Her sea salt caramel chocolate was an early hit and won her Outstanding Original chocolate. The following year she bagged the People’s Choice Best Chocolate award. This was an “aha” moment for her that people do like her goods.

So now, she says that she wants to build her business bigger. This is also in part due to her four boys (who are all home-schooled) more specifically, her son Dustin. Dustin’s enthusiasm for the family business inspired Dorinda profoundly and it was even further enhanced after the family’s trip to Germany. “Dustin helps out a lot in my vision for the company” according to Dorinda.

Truly what a wonderful luxury to have a son like Dustin to help Dorinda with her family business. It was a delight watching them talk about the family business.
But in order for Dorinda’s chocolates to run like a well-oiled machine, they are going to need more than one Dustin. Back when they were still hiring, 19 people applied to work in Dorinda’s chocolate kitchen. But she was not looking for previous experience with making chocolate but rather, she was looking for someone with the curiousity and the willingness to learn. Like a blank canvas one would say, though one of them was an exception. Jen graduated from Le Cordon Bleu school of pastry. But with talent there has to be a platform for it to be recognized. So again, if you want to know how good a chocolate shop is, you simply ask these two inquiries in your probing: “Do they have a kitchen?” “What percentage of their chocolates do they make in-house?”

Check. They even have a cold room behind their kitchen.
Since the inception when Dorinda had a “good feeling” on the spot at Riverside, she and fellow business owner and friend Mark Trujillo (of Hub Coffee) decided to spearhead the renaissance around the Riverside area, along with other businesses such as Mark’s the Hub Coffee Roasters and Beaujolais French bistro. Pretty impressive for someone who started her love affair with chocolates by unexpectedly winning at the Chocolate, Wine & Roses Festival.

Today, she even does corporate giving–the Silver Legacy casino has been an avid client. Her chocolates will also be in Whole Foods soon.
So the next time you’re craving for great, homemade, and quality chocolates to eat, not just to give to someone else, go to Dorinda’s and have an epic taste of her Naked Pistachio Truffle.